Do Parents Play Favorites?

(CBS)  "Am I the favorite?" It's an age-old question that children have been asking and parents have avoided answering -- until now. In an online survey, a London-based company asked mothers if they loved one child more than their other children, as CBS News correspondent Michelle Gielan reports, the results may surprise you.

Just about every parent with more than one child has had to deal with the issue of favoring or wanting to favor one over the other. An online survey conducted by the London-based parenting Web site Netmums, found that out of 1,000 parents questioned one-in-six mothers admitted that they love one of their children more than the others, one-in-three said they love their children the same, and half said they love them differently, but equally.

The revelations sparked an online dialogue. One mother identified as Catherine wrote "I do have a 'favorite' child and I'm not ashamed to admit it."

"Parents are bound to have different feelings of love for each child," said Dr. Joshua Sparrow, a psychiatrist who wasn't surprised by the results. "Many parents struggle with the sense that it's not the same, the feelings that are stirred up in them by each child are different."

The anonymity of the Internet may be helping some parents admit these feelings, but it's still a topic most people are not yet ready to openly talk about.

Parenting expert Stacy DeBroff of momcentral.com sat down with Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith to discuss the results of the survey. To see the interview, click the play button below.




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[mitch5511]

I never favored one child over the other. I love each differently because they individuals with unique personalities.

[sanchez1342]

I was the child unfavored child growing up, and let me tell how horrible and unfair it is to children who just need to be loved. I''ve spent my whole life not feeling good enough. I''m thirty and I live with my mother primarily because I just wanted the time and attention that I didn''t get as a child. I am a mother of two boys, which I''m sure God gave me so I can prove I''m better than my mother. I try really hard to be fair and equal with my children. I don''t ever want them to feel like I did.

[oleander8]

I have three 30-something children. Every one of them have said they thought they were the favorite child when they were growing up. You love each one differently and as long as you can meet each of their individualistic needs - they''ll never know which one you have a special affection for.